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Tribe BRUCHIDES*. 
Fam. BRUCHID. 
Tuis—one of the smaller of the families of Coleoptera—until comparatively recently 
was placed in the Rhyncophorous series, and is included in Schénherr’s great work on 
the genera and species of Curculionide. It has, however, become of late years generally 
recognized that it cannot naturally occupy such a place, and it has consequently been 
detached from its old association, but no position for it has been adopted with unanimity. 
It is placed by Leconte and Horn, in the ‘Classification of the Coleoptera of North 
America ’ (second edition, 1883), between the Chrysomelide and Tenebrionide. It would, 
however, be certainly more naturally placed if it were made to precede, instead of follow, 
the Chrysomelide (or Phytophaga), and in the present work it occupies such a position. 
It may be well to mention that though, as a matter of convenience, it is included in 
the same volume as the Longicornia, it is not to be inferred from this fact that there is 
any special affinity between the two aggregates. 
Our knowledge of the Bruchides is not sufficiently advanced to enable any trustworthy 
generalizations to be made in reference to the species found in our region. Still 
certain figures may possess some interest. Only two or three genera are yet recognized 
in the family, and each of these has a very wide distribution. The total number of 
species described before this work was commenced was about 570. The number of 
recognized North-American species is about 50. The number here recorded as found 
in our region is 150, but of this number eighteen have not been seen by the writer and 
are more or less doubtful. 
The members of this family have been unequally collected in different parts of our 
region: Mr. Champion secured many species in Guatemala and in the State of Panama, 
and the Mexican fauna is pretty well represented by the collections acquired from 
M. Sallé and Herr Hoge; but, on the other hand, the Nicaraguan province is poorly 
represented, and from Costa Rica we have received scarcely any Bruchides. The 
South-American Bruchides are very inadequately known, so that little can be said as to 
the geographical distribution of these insects. I may, however, remark that I am 
acquainted with 51 Mexican species; that of this number seven occur also in the 
- United States of North America, twenty-three + are found in Guatemala as well as in 
Mexico, and eight extend at least as far south as the State of Panama. It would thus 
appear that the Central-American region has but little in common with the United 
States of North America, for at present there is actually a greater community between 
* By D. Smarp. 
+ In this computation the cosmopolitan species are not included. 
